The Elite
by noob7
Summary: "Useless dreaming isn't going to end a war, Carrion. Sacrifices must be made to attain victory...both we and the Empire know that." A short oneshot following one of the many underrated characters in the FE series.


To say that General Hannibal's mansion was huge was an understatement. It "appeared" huge on the outside, which frightened the new recruits coming to train there, but the inside of it was enormous with so many halls and winding staircases, which frightened the recruits even more. For Carrion, he himself had gotten lost quite a number of times when he first arrived there as a young child, but having lived there for a good while, he could well find his way around the mansion…almost.

However on one such day, he couldn't afford to lose his sense of direction now; Hannibal himself had called for him, and everyone knew that when the general specifically requested a personal meeting with one of his knights, there was no question about it in the matter. He had to pause whatever he was doing, and simply go meet with him. Finding the general in such a large place, on the other hand, wasn't so simple.

"Which one was General Hannibal's room again?" Carrion muttered to himself as he sprinted to and fro down the halls, desperately trying to find something that identified Hannibal's chamber. "All these doors look the same. I could just open them all and see if it's the right room…then again, I really don't need to repeat that incident of stumbling into the women's changing quarters again…wait, maybe this is it."

"Sir Carrion? What are you doing?"

Carrion flinched when he heard someone call his name, and turned around to see Corpul standing behind him, gazing up at him curiously.

"Ah, Corpul. It's just you." Carrion scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh…I was just about to see General Hannibal. He called for me a couple minutes ago."

Corpul tilted his head in confusion. "Father's room is back that other way. You passed it about five times or so."

It took all of Carrion's willpower to not slap himself in the face. Corpul was younger than all the other inhabitants who lived there, yet he knew his way around Hannibal's mansion just like the back of his own hand.

"Oh, um, well…" Carrion paused when a realization came to him. "Wait. You mean to tell me that you were watching me wandering about aimlessly this entire time, and you _didn't_ bother to help me?!"

Corpul shrugged. "I thought you were going to find your way eventually. But then I saw you about to enter the women's changing room again, so I decided to stop you." Carrion stared bemused at the child. "I'm going to get my lunch now. Bye."

As he watched Corpul scurry off towards the cafeteria, Carrion made a mental note to himself: which room was General Hannibal's and which room was for the women to change. Though he already knew full well that he would forget it in a day or two, as he always did.

"I'll never understand this place." He sighed.

All the troubles he experienced that morning were quickly forgotten after his meeting with General Hannibal. Carrion calmly exited the room and shut the door, then after making sure no one was watching, he raced through the mansion in newfound excitement, not caring whether he would get lost or not. He eventually found his way into the cafeteria where the other knights and off-duty guards were having their midday meal. He was still so caught up in his jovial mood, that he failed to see a cook carrying a basket full of freshly baked rolls. The basket went flying across the kitchen, scattering the rolls all over the place. The cook was definitely not pleased about this.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, you mindless dolt!" He shouted.

Carrion immediately came back to his senses and began spilling out apologies. "Oh my, I am SO sorry. Here, do you need me to…"

"No thank you! If you want to help, then keep a damn eye open, you bloody moron! Why I oughta…"

The next five minutes were spent with the cook loquaciously chewing out Carrion for his carelessness, which had gotten so loud to the point where everyone stopped eating and tried to get a good glimpse on what was happening in the kitchen. Soon, Carrion was able to escape the merciless wrath of the cook, and ran out through the kitchen doors in his thrilled behavior once more, completely oblivious to the audience he had suddenly gained.

"Well…he's more energetic than usual." Selfina mused to her husband Glade, both of whom were witness to that little display in the kitchen moments ago.

"Seriously." Glade bit into an orange wedge. "I haven't seen him act this way since he was able to land a blow on me during one of our training sessions. And that was over a month ago."

"Hmm…I wonder what's happened which got him so riled up."

"I'll leave you to figure that one out." Glade replied as he stood up and gathered up his plate. "I have to head off to Tahra. Rumors say that it is a target for Freege's army, so I must go over there to help ready their defenses. If all goes well, we should see each other in little over a week."

"Yes. Be safe, my husband." Selfina kissed Glade one last time before he left, then returned to her lunch. She was about to tear into her bread roll when she suddenly remembered Carrion's odd behavior, leaving her curiously pondering a reason for it. She definitely had to talk to him sometime that day.

The one thing Carrion liked best about the knights' quarters was that they were small and simple. One would have to be an idiot to get lost in a small area such as that. After a couple hiccups he suffered that morning and afternoon, Carrion decided it would be best to retreat to his room for the day. After all, he had many preparations to take care of before tonight. His once ecstatic mood had simmered down on a calmer level, but inside him there was still the tiniest bit of excitement he just could not contain. He hummed a small tune his mother used to sing to him when he was younger as he set about gathering everything he deemed essential to his mission. His armor was still in fine shape, even after going through brutal sparring sessions with Dorias and Glade alike. Next to his armor, he set out a fresh cloak and trousers. He glanced over at his sword that was leaning against the wall, and carefully removed it from its sheath. He was glad he sent it to the blacksmith to be repaired a couple days earlier; it was on the verge of being too worn out to use, and it would be detrimental to have it break in the middle of a battle. He gave it a few practice swings, lunging and thrusting towards an imaginary enemy. The techniques he rehearsed over and over again for years until they all came out naturally would finally be put to good use. Yet for some reason, Carrion couldn't help feeling he wished he didn't have to use such techniques at all. Even if he had confidence in his skills, he knew that the enemy would have some way to retaliate, or maybe his own methods would backfire, and he would be left for dead…just like his father.

As he tried to focus his mind onto something else, a knock sounded at his door. He was grateful for the sudden noise- his negative thoughts immediately disappeared- and casually asked who was waiting on the other side.

"Selfina." The voice replied.

Carrion raised his eyebrows in surprise, and did not hesitate to open the door for her.

"Ah, Lady Selfina. Come in." He offered.

"Thank you." She replied as she entered.

She watched as Carrion closed the door and walked over to where she was standing.

"How come you're not with Glade?" He asked.

"He was called to Tahra for a defense mission. He left this afternoon."

"Oh, I see."

Selfina nodded and sat on the edge of his bed. "Speaking of this afternoon…you looked definitely thrilled about something, like the girl of your dreams said 'yes' to your marriage proposal."

"Don't remind me of this afternoon." Carrion blushed, a wave of embarrassment and guilt washing over him. "I felt so bad for making the cook angry. Apparently, the rest of the staff had to work a little longer to make another batch of rolls. Anyway, I can assure you that there was no marriage proposal involved."

Selfina chuckled. "So why were you so excited then?"

Carrion grinned. "General Hannibal gave me an assignment. Apparently, there have been sightings of Manster's army heading towards Castle Meeds, and we also heard that there have been people who've been arrested, but they recently escaped prison. I'm to go with General Hannibal to see what all that's about."

"Oh…is that so?"

"Yes. We are leaving tonight."

"You know, you're the first knight I've seen to be so excited about heading into danger. Most recruits who've never seen battle are usually too nervous or too scared to do anything."

"Well, that's not the only reason I'm excited." Carrion replied. "They say the Prince of Lenster still lives. I believe he may be the reason why Manster is heading this way, but I'm not sure. Regardless, if I see him then I would get the perfect opportunity to liberate my homeland and avenge my father's death!"

Selfina nodded her approval, but Carrion noticed a small forlorn look in her eyes. This was unusual for her to look that way.

"Selfina, what's wrong?" Carrion asked. "You should be happy. You were once a knight of Lenster too, right? If we're able to come across the prince, we can finally have the chance to free our country, just like we've always talked about."

"You're right, Carrion." Selfina managed a small smile. "Nothing's wrong with me, it's just that…I'm a little worried."

"Worried? For who, Glade?"

"You and him both. Think about it: all we've dreamed of was restoring Lenster to its former glory. It's what we trained for, for so many years, and it was all we could picture ourselves doing. Now that opportunity is presenting itself, but now I'm beginning to realize that, even though we may be successful in thwarting the Empire, we may not live to see it happen…or we may never reach our goal at all. Useless dreaming isn't going to win a war, Carrion. Sacrifices must be made to attain victory…both we and the Empire know that."

Carrion didn't respond as a dull silence loomed over the two. As much as he hated to admit it, her words bore a string of truth to it, and it caused an unsettling feeling to bubble up in his stomach. The chance of failure was just as probable as the chance of victory.

"I don't ever recall you speaking so cynically before." He muttered.

"I've seen it happen, Carrion. Comrades who shared our same ideals, strove to make their dreams a reality…felled the instant they stepped onto the battlefield."

He knew exactly who she was talking about, and he could understand her sentiment all too well; his father, among many others, were one of those people.

"But…" He broke the silence. "How can we expect to succeed, if we don't even try at all? If dedicating your effort was the one thing we would need to achieve victory, then would you take that risk?"

Selfina looked up at him, her mouth agape with shock.

"That's why I'm so excited about this assignment." He continued. "If my dedication to the army is enough to help reclaim Lenster, then I'm definitely going to give it my all…even if it means putting my life on the line."

The impact of his words astounded her; she wondered where and when he had acquired such wisdom and bravery.

"You're definitely not a little boy anymore, Carrion." Selfina said with a laugh. "Do you remember that time when you were seven, and no matter how many times Glade would knock you down, you'd get right back up even though you were tired and hurt."

Carrion shrugged. "No, I…don't remember that at all. I can be pretty forgetful sometimes."

"Well, my father came up and asked you why you pushed yourself beyond your limits. And you responded with, 'because when I grow up, I'm going to go after the bad men who took my daddy away.' We were all amazed at how much determination you had."

"Oh…"

Selfina stood up to stretch her limbs. "But even though you've grown, I see you still haven't lost that determination. In fact, I think it may have intensified. You might be right, Carrion. Reclaiming Lenster may be just within our reach…we just have to fight our hardest for it, no matter the outcome."

"Glad you're starting to see things my way." Carrion smirked as he gathered up his things. "I'm afraid I have to get going now. General Hannibal is probably ready to depart."

"Ah, Carrion…well, there was something else I wanted to tell you, but I can't remember what it was."

"Oh really? Well if you forgot it, maybe it wasn't all that important."

"I guess so…" Selfina paused as she tried her hardest to remember what she wanted to tell Carrion, but her mind just continued to run blank. "No, I can't think of it. Oh well…good luck, Carrion. Fortune be with you."

"You as well, Lady Selfina."

The two grasped each other's forearms as a sign of friendship between knights, then parted as they went on their separate duties. Selfina returned to her room shortly after she saw Carrion off, but right as she sat down on her bed, she saw a sudden gleam of light that was reflecting from a high quality sword, which was lying next to her and Glade's other weapons on their rack. Carrion's father's sword…Carrion's mother wanted Selfina to give her son that sword when he became a knight.

"I can be pretty forgetful sometimes too." She mumbled. "Carrion…you better stay alive until I can give you the sword that was your father's…the Elite Sword…"


End file.
